It's flashback time at the Fantastic Flame On. The villain of the piece - The Painter, aka Wilhelm Van Vile - is relating his multi-part origin to the gang of crooks that he's taken up with. Unluckily for him, his origin involves trying to pass off his dodgy counterfeit banknotes on a teenage boy in a bookstore, taking him hostage when his forgeries fail. Why unluckily? Because that young man was none other than The Human Torch.

So, at the flashback-crooks' hideout, Johnny reveals himself and restrains the criminals in a hoop of fire. Once again, Johnny decides that his fire is substantial and self-renewing enough to provide an extended period of incarceration. And, once again, those caught in his fiery prison believe this as well.